The way things could have been
by crazyevanescencegurl
Summary: What if a teenage malestrom met ACME's best detective and fell for her...hard


The way things could have been

I do not own Where On Earth Is Carmen Sandiego or any of it's characters.. Only this idea is mine

May 18 1915 It was dark and stormy on the dock and the sea was a jumbled mass of choppy waves clashing with each other in the racing wind. Due to the hurricane advisory, no one was out and about. Well almost no one. The black clouds shifted to reveal the even darker new moon. In the hazy light of millions of stars a single male figure could be seen. He was leaning causually against a small shack that sat smack in the middle of the dock. Soft baby blue eyes were focused on a certain spot in the angry alantic ocean. The exact coordinates were the passanger ship, Lucitania had been sunk by german u-boats eleven days earlier on May 15, 1915. Tonight Dr.  
Gunner Malestrom had every intention of taking the ship's sunken remains back home with him. At age 18 he was the most wanted criminal of the year. The ACME detective agency had been sending mere children to stop him. A laughable effort on their part. At least it had been until a few months ago. Then they had sent her. ACME agent Carmen Sandiego. She was a year younger than he with all the curves of womenhood that distracted him so. The theif was so engrossed in thought that he almost didn't hear the faint footsteps of his detective quickly approaching. "You seem distracted doctor." A female voice taunted or perhaps teased softly. Cursing himself for being caught off guard, Malestrom pivited on his heel to face his adversery. "Just planning how best to take the lucitina detective." He responded feeling an odd rush of excitment when her light grey eyes narrowed. The sudden shrill screaming of the wind diverted both detective and theif's attention as the massive funnel of air and sea charged toward them. Malestrom's thought's were scattered, his escape truck was within running distance but they wouldn't be able to make it.. They couldn't outrun the hurricane. When had he started thinking about them both? Acting on instinct the theif crossed the slight distance between them and grabbed carmen's small wrist. Then he pulled her into the small shack with him. Not a second later the wrath of the hurricane hit sending wood and glass everywhere. Almost an hour later the storm stopped. Malestrom worked his way out of the wreckage and dusted the debris of his clothing. It seemed to him something was missing but he couldn't quite place what it was. At least not until he saw the limp form of the younge detective pinned beneth a fallen beam from the corner of his eye. A range of emotions variying from worry to panic raced through his head as he tried to find a way to reach her. The shack had been practically destroyed, so there was debris everywhere. He begain to clear the ruble in a state of absolute panic. After an hour of franic digging he had made a narrow path through the shack. The girl stirred and uttered a soft moan of agony. The theif knelt beside her and begain to atempt to help her get free. "Carmen," he said softly "I want to help you. I'm going to lift the beam and you'll have to crawl out. Okay?" When the detective had nodded faintly, malestrom begain to slowly lift the heavy beam. When she had managed to crawl out, he let the beam drop and turned his attention to the younge girl. She had managed to crawl out and lay deathly still inches from the beam. Her skin was pale as death and from what he could tell her breathing was erratic and spontanious. Cautiously he knelt beside her and took her pulse. "Detective, where are you hurt? Detective..Come on carmen, look at me." He whispered as the girl wasn't responding to him. Her eyes were clouded and dark when she looked up at him faintly. She seemed to be having trouble keeping him in focus. She could be going into shock which worried the teenage boy. Especially since he couldn't figure out why. Her right leg was laying at an odd angle and when he touched it to gauge how badly hurt she was, the barely concious girl had flinced and atempted to pull away. A weak shudder ran through her slight form, then the girl went limp once again. The blonde carefully lifted the girl's petite form and carried her away from the wreakage and back toward his truck which the path of the hurricane had left untouched. Malestrom carefully settled the girl into the passanger side of his escape vehicale and begain to search for the blanket he kept for overnight heists. He carefully wrapped the warm blanket against her tenderly making sure that it would't get caught in the seatbelt. Then he shut her door and practically ran to the driver's side.  
He begain to drive away from the scene as the first authorities responded to the disaster. He was driving way over the speed limit but a ticket was the least of his worries and what harm could a speeding ticket do to his already ruined reputation? There was this sentance that kept repeating itself over and over."Your supposed to be a stone hard killer, a terrible monster so why did you save her?" His eyes sneaked a glance at the detective and her lovely ringlet curls and curves. He knew the answer to the question in his head but he couldn't bring himself to admit it. He was falling in love with carmen which was a very bad thing. Gunner forced hiself to think of something else. One of his henchmen, Professer Drake Beuton had a degree in medical science and he should be able to help her. At least the notorious theif hoped he could. He amost missed the entry to his hideout thinking about that...well her. Malestrom drove up the winding path to the hideout and killed the truck's engine. He snaked his hand beneth the blanket to undo her seatbelt and concentrated on not accidentally touching something he shouldn't. Then he bundled the blanket even more snuglly around the female's form and lifted her tenderly out of the seat. Then he made his way inside the hideout. The professer had said that there was a rather severe fracture along the bone of the bone of her right leg. She was so beutiful when she was asleep, especially laying curled up in his bed. He longingly brushed his lips against her pale ones. He didn't expect carmen to wake up while he was kissing her. Nor did he expect her to return the kiss softly. He stroked the detective's face and deepened the kiss even more. Suddenly he pulled away and looked at the slight form in surprize.  
She couldn't have done that of her own will, it was the medication. "Sure malestrom," hissed a voice in his head, "Blame it on the drugs. Maybe she actually loves you too." Instead of listening to the voice, he looked deeply into carmen's eyes and said in a low, desperate voice "Detective...we shouldn't do this.. It will destroy both of us." She didn't respond the way he expected. She nestled closer to him and murmered "I don't mind being destroyed by you Dr." Frustration shot through him like a posion. She made it sound so easy and uncomplicated. Luckily he knew it wasn't. If he indulged in this relationship with her, it would crush her job position at ACME and obliverate any chances of carmen going anywhere in life. Yet she seemed okay with that, with everything. He thought she was a little too okay with it but she was on some pretty heavy pain medication. Once again he found himself blaming the drugs. She streched out her long limbs and then winced. It was definitaly time for a dose of strong pain medication. She refused to take it. Malestrom had been trying to get her to take it for nearly an hour. His voice was as soft as velvet as he tried yet again to coax her into taking the pills. "Come on carmen," he crooned,"I know you don't want to be in pain..This will help."  
Once again she stubbornly stated a defiant "No!" She had to have a reason for not wanting to take the medication, though he didn't know what it might be. Finally he sat beside her and took her pale hand in his. Carefully intertwining their fingers he said in a voice only she could hear "If i'm going to destroy you, i don't want you to be in pain." That statement seemed to do the trick because she took the medicine after he said it. Half an hour later, and the girl was still awake. He knew she was exhausted and painfree...So why was she still awake? something seemed to be bothering her, a puzzle that she couldn't figure out perhaps. He was lying streatched out beside her, stroking dark ringlet curls in what he hoped was a comforting gesture as she lay against his broad shoulder. He had never had a relationship in the past or someone he really cared about so he was clueless about what he was supposed to do. One thing he knew for sure was that no one was going to hurt her while he was around. She had become aquainted with all of his henchmen and surprizingly they all seemed to geniuanly like her. Malestrom was pulled out of his thoughts when carmen looked up at him with lowered lashes and asked softly "Dr. what led you to becoming the most wanted man...or theif for that matter in sanfrancisco?" Malestrom breathed in deeply and sighed loudly. Then he opened his mouth, maybe dreading this, and begain to tell her about the most horrible moment in his unhappy childhood. "After all this time i still remember it like it was yesterday. It started when i was six. My father came home from work, intoxicated. He was hitting my mother when she was trying to calm him down. I tried to stop him from hitting her,  
but instead i got knocked down and my face was bruised immediately. I could feel my face burning up in embarassment and anger especially when he pulled a gun out of his coat pocket and shot her in the head. She fell to the ground, and he was laughing, sure he was drunk, but it made my fury flare up. He dropped the gun in the center of the kitchen floor, came toward me, and beat the shit out of me. I managed to get out of his rough embrace and made my way toward the gun, picked it up, and aimed. He taunted me saying i wouldn't do it, i was bluffing, and that i was weak like my mother. As soon as he said the end of that sentance-BANG, shot him in the head. Needless to say, I enjoyed it." He felt the detective stiffen in his arms and carefully rubbed soothing circles along her throat and back until she relaxed slightly. Then he continued with his narrative "I became a theif at six years old..because i had to in order to survie. Then when i got older, stealing was a habit and a rather fun game. My love of historic ships contributed to my ship stealing habit." Carmen had relaxed almost completely and was faintly caressing the sides of his face, his tattoo, his cheek. He tenderly brushed his lips against hers. He would have her and they would face the world together. Even if he had to give up being a theif to do it. Dr. Gunner Malestrom dropped down on one knee. he watched her face light up in surprize as he carefully said "Carmen Margurite Sandiego, I'll love you forever, Your the only one who has ever made me feel this way. You made my stone hard heart melt the moment i saw you.. Will you marry me?" There was a long silence and malestrom begain to fear she wasn't going to answer him or worse yet.. refuse. His heart soared when he heared her quiet voice say "Yes." He encased her in his arms and cradled her close. There had been silence because Carmen had been completly shocked and hadn't known how to voice her immense joy. She was going to get married and have a family of her own.  
Her children wouldn't go through what she had as a child.

The End My friend Jennifer came up with the malestrom childhood moment, and this is me giving her some much deserved credit. Without her avid intrest in this story as it developed this fanfiction may have never been completed. A big thanks to Rachel Torie B for helping me out with historical accuracy.


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